alsSD operon contributes to efficient growth resumption in the presence of acetic acid in Bacillus subtilis.

Authors

Masashi Ryo, Mika Nishimura, Tomoya Takemura, Kazuki Takahashi, Sho Ishii, Masahito Hosokawa

Published in

Journal of bioscience and bioengineering. Nov 10, 2026. Epub Nov 10, 2026.

Abstract

Weak organic acids such as acetic acid are widely used to control microbial growth and food spoilage; however, the molecular and cellular events that occur during the acetic acid-induced lag phase in Bacillus subtilis remain unclear. Here, we combined growth analysis, exploratory time-course RNA-seq, and alsSD disruption mutants to investigate growth resumption under acetic acid stress. Adding acetic acid to LB medium adjusted to pH 6.0 prolonged the lag phase of B. subtilis in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas medium pH and acetic acid concentration remained largely unchanged during this period. Exploratory time-course RNA-seq was used to identify candidate gene expression changes associated with the acetic acid-induced lag phase. Among the candidates, genes associated with sugar and iron uptake, as well as acetoin metabolism, including the alsSD operon, exhibited higher expression under acetic acid conditions at 2 h, whereas genes related to glutamate metabolism and histidine biosynthesis displayed lower expression. Because the alsSD operon showed an acetic acid-associated expression pattern and has been linked to acetoin metabolism, we examined alsSD disruption mutants. The ΔalsSD strain showed a prolonged lag phase and delayed growth resumption under acetic acid conditions. However, growth eventually resumed, suggesting that additional pathways may also be involved. These results support the involvement of the alsSD operon in efficient B. subtilis growth resumption in the presence of acetic acid. This study provides a basis for further analysis of acetic acid-associated growth resumption in food-related Bacillus physiology.

PMID:
43009397
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 11 Nov 2026.

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